Following President Trump’s presidency, the division between Republican and Democratic students at Williston has grown wider than ever.

A boarding school with kids from all over the United States and across the world is bound to have students with a variety of political views. These differences in opinion, in light of the immense amount of conflict and turmoil in our current political and social climate, lend themselves to strong division between students across the Williston campus.

The politically liberal town of Northampton Mass., just fifteen minutes away, caries a wave of progressive Democratic ideology onto the Williston campus. Many Williston students described the division between Republicans and Democrats as strong, and note that they interact with more Republicans on campus than they did at schools in the neighboring towns.

Based on election information, U.S. Census demographics, and other criteria, the website Epodunk rates Northampton the most politically-liberal city with a population between 25,000–99,000 in the United States. The Willistonian looked into how such a strong politically liberal atmosphere so close to the Williston campus affects students.

Many self-identifying Republican students have shared that they feel as if their beliefs are not respected, and they are not given an equal platform to vocalize their opinions. Many Democratic students shared that they felt as if the proximity to Northampton was an asset, and lent itself to strong inclusivity and a progressive environment.

Massachusetts as a whole, with a whopping 1,035,317 more Democratically-registered voters than Republicans as of 2021, is an incredibly blue state. However, this does not mean that strong conservative and Republican opinions are not present within this area, as is true of most regions in the U.S. This is especially relevant within the neighboring towns of Southampton, Westfield, and — even more conservative but farther afield — Worcester, Mass., with 39.7% Republican voters.

A Williston senior who chooses to remain anonymous, identified himself as Republican and said he often feels his beliefs have not been respected on the Williston campus.

“A lot of times I feel my views are assumed to be hateful and wrong,” he said. “I feel like I’m not really able to say how I really feel in discussion around political topics without fear of harsh criticism resulting in my silence.”

He said how while he felt there were many Republicans at Williston, the overwhelming majority of liberals makes it difficult to share his opinion.

“I feel like there are a lot of Republicans here,” he said, ‘but a lot of times it doesn’t feel like it because we can’t really speak our mind.”

The anonymous student shared that he had mixed feelings regarding former President Trump’s influence.

“I agree with some of Trump’s beliefs but no, I wouldn’t consider myself a Trump supporter,” he said. “I definitely think that Trump has deeply impacted the perception of my party. He has discredited the legitimacy of the party and really turned his main message into something that is just not the same as it was.”

Trump, he explained, has tarnished people’s perception of the party.

“My family has considered themselves Republican for a very long time and I think that what the party has become now is not what it was a long time ago” he said. “There is so much hatred especially around Trump. I just want people to understand that I can be fiscally Republican and not be racist.”

Addressing the divide between students of political parties, he said he thought Williston has become increasingly polarized since the 2020 election, and feels students often falsely assume a lot about him after hearing he is a Republican.

The PEW Research Center shared that, as of 2019, 13% of voters ages 18-29 voted Republican. According to the United States Census Bureau, in the 2020 election, voter turnout was highest among those ages 65 to 74 at 76.0%, while the percentage was lowest among those ages 18 to 24 at 51.4%.

Adeline Hume, a six-year senior from Easthampton Mass., who described herself as “on the more liberal side,” feels her beliefs are respected on campus.

“Because there are so many people sharing my beliefs, I do feel comfortable talking about my opinions,” she said.

Adeline feels that most of the time her beliefs are respected when engaging in political conversation with people from the opposite party.

“I think it depends on the situation for sure, but when politics are brought up its often in the classroom and its easier to have a fairly respectful conversation when there are teachers and a lot of other students present,” she said.

Adeline said that there is a noticeable division between parties on campus and it has been exacerbated by the 2020 election. She feels people’s perception of the political party have also changed since Trump’s presidency.